One of the survivors of the tragic bus crash in Tanay, Rizal that killed 15 passengers Monday said he sensed something wrong when they were the last to leave the school campus.
Raymond, not his real name, said their bus was supposed to take off eighth among nine buses bound for the camping site in Tanay.
But two hours after the buses started leaving, their bus remained parked.
“Pang-walo po kami, may bus No. 9 pa, pero kami pa po huling umalis. Nakaalis na po lahat, eh ang sabi po sira daw po ’yung bus na inupuan po namin,” he said.
To their dismay – it was already 6 a.m. – Raymond said they were asked to alight the bus while personnel inspected the vehicle.
Eventually, the bus was cleared to leave.
Raymond said the trip was going smooth, but not too fast, that they even managed to sleep until he was awakened two hours later by a foul odor.
“Like a rubber burning,” he said. “Some of the passengers were complaining, my classmates were shouting, ‘Boss, it smells like burnt rubber here.’ But he (the driver) ignored us. He kept on driving.”
The students started to panic when the bus suddenly tilted and started shaking. “Pabilis na po nang pabilis,” Raymund said.
“Nakita ko po ‘yung bus na dumiretso, kasi bangin na po ‘yun eh, napapikit na lang po ako, sabi ko, Lord kayo na po bahala,” he said.
He said he lost consciousness when the bus crashed into an electric post. Raymund woke up lying bloodied outside the bus next to his girlfriend who was crying due to a terrible pain in her body.
“Pag-gising ko po, nasa tabi na po ako ng bus…panay dugo na po ’yung ulo ko…Tapos sa paligid namin, panay patay na po,” he said.
Raymund, who was wounded in the face and shoulder and sustained a sprained right ankle that was swelling and wrapped in rubber gauze, said he has not heard from her since then. “We were carried by different ambulances. I don’t know where she is now. I have been asking but no one could tell me,” he said.
Raymund was discharged with seven other passengers who sustained minor injuries and were confirmed stable after various examinations. (VANNE ELAINE P. TERRAZOLA)
